Thoraya Obaid

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid (; born 2 March 1945) is a Saudi politician and diplomat who served as executive director of the United Nations Population Fund from 2000 to 2010. From 2013 to 2016 she was a member of the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia.

Early life and education Obaid was born on 2 March 1945 in Baghdad, Iraq.

Career Obaid joined the staff of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in 1975 and became its deputy executive secretary before moving in 1998 to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as director of its Division for Arab States and Europe. She became the executive director of UNFPA in 2001 and held the position until 2010, with the status of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

From 2013 to 2016 she was a member of the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia, also known as the Shura Council. She was one of a group of thirty women who were the first to be appointed to this body, hitherto all-male.

She has served as a director of the Women's Learning Partnership.

In 2004, the Arabic edition of Forbes included Obaid in its list of the 50 most powerful Arab women in the world, and she appeared in the same listing in 2011. She is one of the 100 Muslims (50 men and 50 women) described in Natana J. DeLong-Bas's 2006 work Notable Muslims: Muslim Builders of World Civilization and Culture, and is included in the 2023 edition of The 500 Most Influential Muslims.

Personal life Obaid is married and has two daughters.